Combined stove and humidifier



Oct. 30,1923. nmm a G. A. KREUTZER ET AL COMBINED STOVE AND HUMIDIFIER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed March 6. 1920 m J My Z Original Filed March 6.

G A KREUTZER ET AL COMBINED STOVE AND HUMIDIFIER Oct. 30, 1923.

w m O 2 H a w m 2 e 1 7 B /& W A M m 3 h m L M L K 9 1. v \ww Patented Get. 30, 1923.

unmzo STATES OFFE CE.

GEORGE A. KREUTZER AND KENNETH L. LONG, OF LINCOLN, NEBRASKA; NATALIE G.

, LONG EXECUTRIX OF SAID KENNETH L. LONG.

COMBINED STOVE AND HUMIDIFIER.

Application filed March 6, 1920, Serial No. 363,895 Renewed August 11, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Gnonen A. Knnn'rznn and KENNETH L. Lone, citizens of the United States, residing at Lincoln, in the county of Lancaster and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Stoves and Humidifiers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a Combined stove and humidifier for internal combustion engines and has as one of its principal objects to provide a device which will supply a heated vapor to the intake of the engine carbureter for thus enhancing the combustibility of the fuel mixture while, at the same time, acting to reduce the formation of carbon in the engine cylinders.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device wherein heated air will also be supplied to the intake of the engine carbureter along with the heated vapor.

The invention has as a further object to provide a device which will utilize steam generated in the engine radiator and wherein the device will be provided with a drainage valve for preventing flow of water through the device into the engine carbureter. p

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device wherein the vapor heating chamber employed will be housed within the hood of the store of the device so that as the steam .is drawn into said chamber from the engine radiator, such steam will be heated within the chamber and thence directed off to the carburetor intake.

, And the invention has as a still further obje ct to provide a device which will be characterized by structural simplicity and which may be readily applied.

Other and incidental objects will appear hereinafter.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is afragmentary side elevation showing our improved device in connection withthe engine of a conventional type of motor vehicle, a portionof the hood of the vehicle being broken away.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 4 looking rearwardly.

Figure 3 is a detail perspective View of the heating chamber of the device, and

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section particularly illustrating the mounting of the heating chamber within the hood of the stove employed and illustrating the connection between the engine radiator and the chamber as well as the connection between the hood of the chamber and the intake of the engine carburetor.

In order that the construction, mounting and operation of our invention may be accurately understood we have, in the drawings shown the device in connection with a conventional type of motor vehicle. The engine of the vehicle is indicated at and lying along one side of the engine is the exhaust manifold 11. The intake manifold is indicated at 12 and connected to this manifold is the engine carbureter 13 having the usual air intake 14. The engine radiator is indicated at 15, this radiator being provided with the usual filler tube 16 closed by a screw cap 17 and, as will be observed, the radiator isformed with a top tank 18.

Coming now more particularly to the subject of the present invention, we employ a jacket or hood 19 having a relatively short back wall 20 and an elongated front wall 21 joined with the back wall by the curved top wall of the hood. Closing the hood at its ends are end walls 22. However, it

will be observed that these end walls are notched or cut away to provide shoulders 23 lying in a plane with the lower edge. of the back wall and these shoulders are arranged to engage over the exhaust manifold 11, as suggested in Figure 1, for supporting the hood to rest thereon, the inner vertical edges of the end walls below the shoulders seating against the outer side face of the manifold. Secured to the back wall 20 are longitudinally spaced angle brackets 24, the horizontal arms of which are provided with slots 25. The brackets are arranged to aline with a pair of bolts securing the cylinder head block of the engine, at the adjacent side of said block, and the slots 25 are adapted to freely receive said bolts so that the horizontal arms of the brackets may be engaged beneath the heads of these bolts for securely connecting the hood to the engine. Formed upon the forward end wall of the hood adjacent its upper end is a collar 26 and formed upon the rear end wall of the hood to aline with'this collar is a rearward- 1y projecting collar 27 of somewhat larger diameter than the former collar. Removupon reference ably fitted at one end through the collar 27 to be held therein by a suitable set bolt is a preferably flexible pipe 28 which, at its opposite end, is fitted to the intake 14 of the engine carbureter 13. A stove is thus provided, the hood 19 being adapted to collect heated air rising from the exhaust manifold when this air will, as will be well understood, be drawn off through the pipe 28 to the carbureter.

Removably fitted within the hood 19 is a vapor heating chamber. This chamber is formed with inner and outer sidewalls 29 and 30 respectively, the lower end portions of which are fiat and extend in parallel relation. However, the upper end portions of these walls are curved laterally and merge into the cylindrical dome 31 of the chamber, this dome being offset rearwardly from the lower portion of the chamber. Closing the chamber at its lower end is a bottom wall 32 which, if desired, may-carry a clean-out plug 33; Formed on the forward end wall of the chamber axially of the dome 31 is a nipple 34 snugly fitting through the collar 26 of the hood and acting to center the chamber within the upper portion of the hood. At'its forward end the chamber abuts the forward end wall of the hood while the rear end of the chamber lies in spaced relation to the rear end wall of the hood to provide an air passage therebetween leading upwardly to the pipe 28. Free fiow of heated air will thus be permitted through the hood and through the pipe 28 to the engine carbureter. Since, as previously noted, the dome 31 is offset somewhat with respect to the lower portion of the chamber, the outer side wall 30 of the chamber seats flat against the front side wall 21. of the hood and fitted through the latter wall are spaced cap bolts or other suitable fastenings 35 threaded into sockets 86 formed on the outer side wall of the chamber.

The chamber will thus be rigidly supported within the hood and, as will be noted. to Figure 2, the lower portion of the chamber is of a width correspond ing to the width of the reduced portions of the end walls 22 of the hood so that the lower portion of the chamber thus lies between the front side wall of the hood and the exhaust manifold 11, resting against the manifold while the upper portion of the chamber extends upwardly over the mani foldin such manner that the dome 31 is dis posed directly above the manifold. The

ome will thus be directly subjected to the heat rising from the manifold. Further, in this connection it is to be observed that :1

-- dead air space is formed within the upper portion of the hood about the dome so that the heat rising from the exhaust manifold Will be held or detained around the dome for heating the dome in maximum degree.

of the chamber.

Freely fitted at one end through the nipple '34 of the chamber is a VZlPOT'PlPG 37 received through a gland 38 upon the nipple, this gland, of course,forming a tight joint between the pipe and chamber. The pipe is preferably flexible and the opposite end portion thereof is led through a suitable gland 39 upon the back wall of the top tank 18 of the radiator and is carried upwardly within the radiator to terminate within the filler tube 16. If desired, the upper end portion of the pipe may, as suggested in Figure 4, be suitably secured to the upstanding upper end portion of the overflow pipe of: the radiator. The pipe 37 is thus arranged to conduct steam rising into the filler tube 16 of the radiator into the dome I .31 of the heating chamber and since, as sometimes happens, the level of the water in the radiator will rise into the filler tube, the pipe will, when this occurs, also conduct a supply of water into the chamber The forward end wall of the chamber is provided with a substantially V- shaped depression 40 and the lower inclined wall of this depression is formed with an overflow opening 41 lying in a plane near the bottom wall opening so that the chamber is thus rendered air tight, is a flap valve-42. Aspartic-ularly shown in Figure 3, the valve is forked at its upper end to provide spaced hinge lugs which mate with a hinge lug formed at the crotch of the inclined walls of the depression 40, the several lugs receiving a suitable pivotpin so that the valve thus normally gravitates to closed position. However, when the water in the lower portion of the chamber reaches the level of the opening 41, the water will seep out through said opening beneath the valve so that flooding of the chamber will thus be automatically prevented, the level of water in the chamber being maintained relatively constant. Formed on the rear end wall of the chamber in alinement with the nipple 34 is a collar 43 and freely fitted at one end through this collar is a preferably flexible vapor discharge pipe 44 which may be held within the collar by a suitable set bolt. The pipe 44 is led downwardly within the pipe 28 and at its lower end terminates, as best seen in dotted lines in Figure 4, in spacedrelation to'the adjacent end of the air pipe to provide an ejector for the chamber.

As will now be readily appreciated in view of the previous description, when the vehicle engine is running, a supply of heated air will be drawn into the carbureter through the pipe 28. At the same time, suction set up in the, carbureter will act to create a partial vacuum in the vapor heating chamber so that vapor from the engine radiator will be drawn into this chamber through the pipe 37. The vapor so entering the Normally closing said chamber will, of course, emerge into the heating dome 31 and since this dome will, for the reasons previously pointed out, be heated the hottest of any part of the chamber, the vapor will be heated Within the chan'iber in its passage therethrough to the pipe 44:, the vapor being drawn off through this pipe and finally discharged into the intake of the carburetor. In thus heating the vapors drawn from the radiator, condensation within the heatin chamber will be reduced to a minimum time the high temperature of the vapor will assist in the vaporization of the liquid fuel in the carbureter as well as also tend to promote a homogeneous union of the vapor with the fuel mixture. In supplying heated air to the carbureter, vaporization of the liquid fuel will, as is well known, be enhanced and in constantly supplying moisture alon with the heated air supply, the combustibllity of the fuel mixture will also be increased. Since the lower portion of the heating chamber lies directly against the exhaust manifold, water collecting within the lower portion of the chamber will be heated in such degree as to give off a vapor therefrom and, of course, thls vapor will rise into the heating dome of the chamber to be thence drawn off through the pipe 44. Owing to the small body of water which will be contained within the chamber, this small body will, when the vehicle engine is first started, begin to give off a vapor before the generation of steamin the engine radiator. Accordingly, the heating chamber will, at a time soon after the engine is started, function independently of the main steam supply from the engine radiator for supplying moisture to the carbureter and keeping down the formation of carbon in the engine cylinders when the engine is started and until the steam begins to flow from the radiator into the heating chamber. e accordingly provide a particularly effective construction for the purpose set forth and, as will be seen, a device which may be readily employed in connection with the engine of substantially any conventional type of motor vehicle.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A device of the character described comprising, a heating chamber having a vapor inlet and a vapor outlet disposed adjacent the top thereof, a hood forming a jacket over the top and one side of said heating chamber and having an opening alining with the vapor outlet, a heated air conduit connected with said hood opening .I l and a water vapor condun;

extending through said heated air conduit leading from the vapor outlet to the carburetor of an engine.

2. A device of the character described comprising, a heating chamber having a vapor inlet and a vapor outlet disposed adjacent the top thereof, a gravity closed valve approximate the bottom of said chamber to remove excess liquid accumulation therefrom, a hood forming a jacket over the top and one side of said heating chamber and having an opening .alining with the water vapor outlet, a heated air conduit connected with said hood opening, and a water vapor conduit extending through said heated air conduit and connected with the vapor out let.

3. A device of the character described comprising a hood having alining openings, a heating chamber enclosed by said hood and also having alining openings, nipples on each of said openings, one of said nipples engaging one of the hood openings to support said chamber with relation to the hood, and conduits connected to the nipples.

4. In combination with an internal combustion engine, having an exhaust manifold, a carbureter and a radiator with a steam receptacle; of an enclosed chamber having one side contacting with said manifold, a conduit between said steam receptacle and said chamber, a hood open at the bottom and seated upon the manifold and enclosing said chamber, means securing the chamber to said hood, a pipe connection between said hood and said carbureter and a discharge pipe from said chamber for delivering steam through said pipe connection to the carbureter.

5. In combination with an internal combustion engine, having an exhaust manifold, a carburetor and a radiator with a steam receptacle; of an enclosed chamber having one side contacting with said manifold, a conduit between said steam receptacle and said chamber, a hood open at the bottom and seated upon the manifold and enclosing said chamber, means securing the chamber to said hood, a pipe connection between said hood and said carbureter and a discharge pipe from said chamber for delivering steam through said pipe connection to the carbureter, said chamber having .an inclined wall provided With a port and an exteriorly mounted, gravity actuated valve for closing said port.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

GEORGE A. KREUTZER. 

